Intelligence services were last night trying to trace an NHS doctor who was part of a terror cell that kidnapped and shot a British photographer in Syria.

The AK-47-wielding medic is part of an extremist gang that held veteran war photographer John Cantlie and a fellow western journalist hostage for a week.

A heavily bearded Islamic fanatic, he told his prisoners he had taken a sabbatical from his NHS job to wage a ‘holy war’ in Syria.

Captive: John Cantlie, who was shot in the arm when he tried to escape the camp in Syria, said his British-born captor planned to return to a role in the NHS

He also told them that he was planning to return to his senior post in a South London A&E department.

Last night the General Medical Council said it would be investigating Mr Cantlie’s account.

A spokesman said: ‘Protecting patients is our priority. We are looking very closely at these allegations.’

Mr Cantlie, 41, was captured last
month with Dutch colleague Jeroen Oerlemans while they were covering the
civil war between President Assad’s army and rebel fighters.

As he tried to flee in a botched
escape attempt, Mr Cantlie was shot in the arm but was later treated by
the doctor, who was using a clearly labelled NHS medical kit.

When asked his name, he told the captives: ‘Just call me the doctor – I’m the only one here.’

The medic, who said he was 28 and had
a wife and child in Britain, was also among the leaders of a group who
were planning to behead ‘spies’ and was furious when the execution of
two Syrians he believed to be undercover agents was halted.

It comes just days after the
intelligence services warned that dozens of Britons, many thought to be
of Pakistani origin, were going to Syria to wage jihad, or holy war. The
concern is that they will return to the UK radicalised and pose a
security problem.

Destruction: Mr Cantlie and a colleague were held captive at a camp two miles inside the border of Syria - the scene of deadly clashes between rebel fighters and President Assad's army

Mr Cantlie told the Daily Mail of his British captor: ‘When he told me he was an NHS doctor, I thought it was weird.

‘This is a man who has taken an oath
to save people and help them, and here he is walking around with a
Kalashnikov and preaching sharia law. There are not any doctors who I
know that do that.

‘He clearly believed in what he was
doing but to follow something to that extreme is the disturbing thing.
He was visibly upset when the execution was called off.’

In a macabre twist, the doctor, who
spoke in a South London accent and kept his face covered with sunglasses
and a scarf – said he was glad of the experience in Syria as when he
returned to Britain

he wanted to specialise in trauma injuries.

Mr Cantlie added: ‘He said treating
jihadists wounded in battle was good training and had a pack of gauzes,
medicine, IV drips and medical gear.

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‘As he treated the gunshot wound in my arm, he clearly knew what he was doing. He was very well-trained.’

Mr Cantlie and his colleague were
captured when they went to a camp they had previously visited, unaware
that terrorists had since taken it over.

He said of the doctor: ‘I asked for
his help as we were both from London but he refused to even send a text
to my girlfriend to say we were alive. He said he would be beheaded if
he did.

‘He said, “I can’t be in here too long because the other guys say I’m too nice to you”.’

The doctor, who is believed to be of
Pakistani descent, was among around 15 British nationals at the terror
camp, just inside Syria’s border, many of whom had London accents. They
were part of a 40-strong cell called Al Absi, which aims to convert
Syria to sharia law.

Mr Cantlie, pictured, said he was still eager to return to Syria to report on the war despite his traumatic experience

When Mr Cantlie tried to escape on
the second of his seven days in captivity, one of those who opened fire
was British, wounding him in the elbow and his Dutch friend in the leg.

He said: ‘Afterwards the doctor was the guy who treated us.

‘He stabilised Jeroen with saline
drips, that had NHS logos, gave him antibiotics and stitched his wound.
His assistant, another Londoner, bandaged my wounds. This guy had shot
at me as we tried to escape.

'He also smacked the butt of his AK-47 into
my head after we were recaptured. Some of the Brits were vindictive.
They wanted us dead.’

He said that after this, the doctor
‘came into the tent where I was handcuffed and blindfolded. The
militants had smacked me about as they claimed I was the leader of the
escape.

‘He said, “I’m very disappointed in
you, John. Before this you were going to be ransomed, but now I don’t
know. I told you to have patience, that it would be OK. Now it will be
bad”.

‘It wasn’t much fun expecting to end
up on an execution video at the hands of extremists – one of whom was
treating Londoners like me a few months ago.’

The next day, to Mr Cantlie’s horror,
he saw a trestle table being erected and heard knives being sharpened,
but later learned these were for two Syrians who were eventually spared
after repenting and promising to follow sharia law.

He added: ‘The
doctor was annoyed. He said they should’ve been beheaded because they
were Syrian spies.’

Throughout his ordeal, Mr Cantlie was kept handcuffed in a tent. On one occasion he heard the doctor on the phone to his family.

He added: ‘He was saying, “Hello
babes, how’s the little ‘un? Put him on and let me hear him”.’ At
another point, he even complained to his hostages about the state of the
NHS.

‘He told us the NHS is good if you’re
in a serious accident but if you’re on a hip replacement waiting list
it’s terrible,’ Mr Cantlie said.

Unrest: Mr Cantlie and Mr Oerlemans were eventually rescued by Syrian rebels. Above, a member of the Free Syrian Army runs for cover during clashes with army soldiers in Aleppo's Saif al-Dawla district this week

Clashes: Fighting is ongoing in Syria as rebel fighters attempt to wrest control from President Assad's army. Smoke can be seen over the Salah al-Din in central Aleppo after clashes earlier this month

Both photographers eventually managed
to escape from the camp in Northern Syria with the help of the Free
Syrian Army, the rebels fighting Assad’s forces.

Speaking yesterday, Mr Cantlie, who
has suffered nerve damage in his left arm and now has only limited
movement in his fingers, said he was still eager to return to Syria to
report on the war despite his traumatic experience.

He said: ‘I am itching to get back out
there. The only thing stopping me is my cameras, as I lost them out
there and need to buy some more.’

Do you know the doctor? Call the Daily Mail news desk on 02079386059

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John Cantlie: NHS doctor led Syrian terror cell that took British journalist hostage